Matter Of Trust (5 page)

Ty hurried around to open the passenger side of his two-door car, allowing Kayla to slide into her seat before he shut the door. Her heart hammered in her chest as she leaned back and tried to relax. The car, like Ty, was so familiar. They had dated in this car, and he’d kissed her here for the first time. Kayla slammed the door on the memory.

“You’ll have to tell me how to get there,” he said, pulling out of the parking lot.

Kayla proceeded to give him directions to the church she had been attending since moving back home.

“Your boss’s secretary called our office Friday morning,” Kayla began, wanting to ensure that the conversation stayed away from anything personal. “I appreciate your letting me know about the job.”

“No problem. I hoped you’d be pleased.”

“I was. We already have several functions scheduled for them. Next Friday we’ll be providing an Italian dinner for the board and their spouses.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a hit.”

“Then in two weeks we’ll be serving a Southern-style barbecue for the staff.”

“That will be no small dinner.”

“Eighty-five people,” Kayla said, after telling him to turn left at the light.

“I’ll be there for that one. What’s on the menu?”

“The powers that be wanted something different, so we decided to try some Southern fare. Barbecue, beans, corn on the cob, cornbread, and cherry cobbler for dessert.”

“I can’t wait.”

The best thing to do was not work that night. Jenny, her mom and the extra servers they would hire could handle things without her. “Jenny took a year off from teaching and is working for us part-time.”

“She planned to be your maid of honor.”

“Yes.” Kayla wished he hadn’t brought up their wedding. There was too much history between them.

“It’ll be good to see her.”

She grimaced. Without a doubt she needed to make her decision clear and the sooner the better.

Thirty minutes later Kayla sat next to Ty on the pew, barely hearing the words of the sermon. How many times had they gone to church together as she unknowingly succumbed to his deception of being a believer? It had all been an act. What was she doing here with him again?

“‘You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.’”

Kayla’s ears perked up as Pastor Jenkins read from the fifth chapter of Romans. “‘Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’”

Kayla looked at Ty. For the past year she had seen him as a sinner. One who took advantage of her and in turn broke her heart. Never once had she found the courage to ask God for Ty to find forgiveness in Jesus Christ, a redemption that came so freely.

Now that Ty said he claimed that forgiveness, she refused to believe him because one thing still haunted her. What if he was still lying?

“Now look back at chapter four and verses seven and eight,” the minister continued, and Kayla forced herself to listen. “‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.’”

Kayla swallowed hard and glanced at Ty’s lean form. His gaze rested intently on the minister as if he were soaking in the message. Was it just a coincidence that today’s lesson spoke on forgiveness, or was God trying to tell her something?

Ty sat across from Kayla at a corner table in one of the local restaurants. He’d enjoyed the church service, in spite of the fact that he’d been afraid she regretted the moment she’d invited him. If she had, he saw no sign of it in her friendly smile as she introduced him to some of her friends. Afterward she’d told him they needed to talk, and he’d suggested lunch.

“So what did you think about the sermon?” Kayla asked after the waitress had brought them their lunch.

Ty took a bite of his steak sandwich before answering. “It reminded me of just how amazing it is that Christ died for me and how unworthy I am. And I’m thankful I finally figured out I need Him.” Ty paused. “I know this is hard for you, Kayla. If our places were reversed, then I would have a difficult time believing you. I only hope I can show you by the way I act that I’m not the same man you broke it off with a year ago.”

She nodded. “I am having a hard time trusting you. I want to believe you. I want to believe you’ve changed, and yet how can you really expect me to do that?”

Ty put down his sandwich and looked at her intently, shaking his head. “I don’t know, Kayla. I realize it won’t happen overnight.”

She still had the same effect on him. He couldn’t think straight around her. He reached across the table and took her hand. Kayla pulled hers back as if he had touched her with a burning coal, and immediately he regretted his actions. “I’m sorry, Kayla. I shouldn’t have done that. I just …”

“Forget it.”

What had he been thinking?
Ty forced himself to take another bite. Surely she still felt something for him. To have her so near and yet not be able even to touch her was excruciating. He tried to think of something nonpersonal and nonthreatening to say. He had to take it slow so they could get to know each other again.

“I’m enjoying my new job.” Surely work was a safe topic. “The company I’m working for is great.”

“Really?” Kayla took a bite of her salad, looking as if she were making herself eat. “What do you do?”

“I’m sort of a financial adviser.”

The waitress came to refill their drinks, and Kayla pushed her plate aside. “Sounds like fun.” Kayla’s tone was dry.

Ty sighed. He’d honestly thought that when she invited him to church it had been an unspoken truce, but apparently he was wrong. He watched Kayla check her watch for the tenth time and wondered what he should do.

“Ty …” She paused and reached for her purse. “This just isn’t going to work. I never should have agreed to see you in the first place. I’m sorry, but we won’t be seeing each other again.” Without another word Kayla got up from the table and walked out the door.

Just as she had a year ago.

Ty’s heart sank as he watched Kayla leave the restaurant, shocked at her abruptness. She must have been sitting there the entire lunch trying to figure out how to tell him there wasn’t a chance for them. He had known it wouldn’t be easy to win her back, but somehow he’d convinced himself it would work out.

He knew he had changed, but how could he convince Kayla? He possessed a deeper love for her than he had a year ago. If only she could find it in her heart to give him another chance. Ty paid the bill for the uneaten food and left the restaurant.

Kayla felt nauseous as she walked the six blocks home. Things had not gone the way she had intended. She’d planned to be a bit gentler and explain her reasons, but instead it had all come out at once.

What else could she have done but leave? If she hadn’t left the moment she did, she knew she would have given in to him. When he took her hand, her entire body had melted at his touch. She couldn’t trust him, and she couldn’t see him again. There was simply no other way around it.

four

Kayla glanced across the lofty barn that had been converted into a meeting hall and wished she could slip off her shoes. The front half of the structure was filled with a dozen round tables covered with red-checkered cloths. She’d spent the afternoon making centerpieces from cowboy hats, balloons and bandanas. Most of the employees of Farrington Cranberry Company had already filled their plates with the Southern spread and were enjoying the warm July evening, thanks to the bigwigs who were picking up the tab.

The corporate headquarters had made the decision five years ago to settle in the small valley outside Farrington. Landing a catering contract with the company that sold everything from cranberry juice to dried cranberries to cranberry muffins nationwide was a huge blessing for Marceilo Catering. And tonight was key to future catering jobs. Already Kayla had received several compliments on the food as people migrated back to the buffet line for seconds. Her mother had grown up in Memphis and could make barbeque like a pro. They’d added cranberry chutney and cranberry apple crisp to the menu to impress the VIPs, a decision that hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Looks like you’ve outdone yourself once again.”

Kayla glanced up to see Ty filling his plate with a mound of potato salad. A lump swelled in her chest. “Ty … I didn’t think you were here tonight.”

“I got snagged into a conversation outside and somehow missed the first lineup.”

She gnawed on the edge of her lip. Great. Now he was going to think she’d been looking for him. Except she hadn’t. Not really. Nothing more than a few lingering gazes across the crowded room as she made sure the servers were doing their job and the food warmers stayed full. Of course, that wasn’t to say that in the past two weeks she hadn’t thought about picking up the phone and calling him to apologize for her abrupt departure at the restaurant. But every time she started to call she managed to convince herself Ty Lawrence wasn’t worth a phone call. The truth was, she didn’t owe him anything.

He moved to the beans, and she pretended to stay busy by filling a warming pan with more barbeque beef. Over half the employees had taken the evening’s theme seriously and dressed in Western shirts and boots. A number of the men even sported cowboy hats. Ty was no exception. Red plaid shirt, fitted blue jeans, and a black Stetson were enough to woo the heart of any cowgirl. Even she had to admit the rugged look fit him. But Ty always had put appearances first, and she’d learned the hard way that appearances could be very deceiving.

Kayla handed off the empty pan to one of the servers. She was going to have to get rid of any guilt that lingered, because tonight was proof this was a small town and their running into each other was inevitable. If only he didn’t manage to tie her emotions into a double knot. At the moment her knees felt like jelly and her heart like the bass drum in a high school marching band. Definitely not a good sign that she’d forgotten the six-foot-two cowboy standing in front of her.

But why does he have to look so amazingly gorgeous?

Ty added a piece of jalapeño cornbread to his plate. “You’ve got quite a spread here. I don’t remember the last time I had barbeque, but it smells absolutely heavenly.”

“Once you’ve got your food, drinks are at the table over there.” She cringed at her harsh tone. He’d asked her to forgive him, and she’d practically thrown it back in his face. So much for setting a Christian example. “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” were commands she was struggling to follow. Which made it look from the surface as if Ty was more of a Christian than she was. If he really was a Christian at all. Could she help it if her history with the man dictated she guard her heart tighter than the First Bank of Farrington?

“I don’t believe I have ever seen you quite so …” Kayla searched for the right word.

“So casual?” He chuckled.

“It was always an effort to get you to relax long enough to change out of a tie and jacket and into a pair of blue jeans.”

Ty’s blue eyes widened. “So you approve?”

“I … yes,” Kayla stammered.

This definitely wasn’t fair. She should have taken her mother’s advice and skipped tonight. Except she couldn’t keep running. Had she already forgotten she was over him—100 percent? There was no need to run. And the look was perfect for him. All he needed now was a lasso and a mechanical bull.

“Now this looks delicious.” He put a spoonful of maple-roasted sweet potatoes on his plate, gave her a slight nod then walked over to the drink table.

Kayla’s jaw dropped. He acted more interested in the food than in her. She grabbed the empty pan and headed for the kitchen. Of course, that was exactly the way it should be. She’d told him the relationship was over, and he’d finally accepted it. Wasn’t that what she wanted?

As much as she tried not to notice, Kayla spent the next hour watching Ty mingle with his coworkers. He’d sat down at a table near the buffet giving her the opportunity to observe him—if she wanted to.